Crimson Tale
by Mostarda
Summary: A war between Savages and Civilized Men. A city depicted as paradise by nobility and as a cage by the people. The awakening of the mysteries of the world. A tale where freedom and righteousness are twisted concepts. Medieval AU with various pairings.
1. Prologue

**Warnings: blood and gore, supernatural themes, alcohol references, sexual content, strong language. EreMika; Aruani; Yumikuri.**

* * *

**Prologue**

Five steeds galloped in the night, their hooves violently ripping the grass and dirt from the ground.

The riders' hooded capes danced in the wind like whips, a pair of minimalistic wings opposite to each other embroidered in them. Their gloved hands viciously gripped the reins, their eyes, determined and focused, stared at the black mass ahead of them, the pair of torches they brought along providing just a dim halo of clarity. Their chainmail armor, underneath their leather vest, gripped their bodies uncomfortably like slender metallic fingers. The horses grunted with every guttural breath, their powerful musculature easily visible due to the straining.

"Sir, the outpost is in sight." A deep voice, belonging to a dark skinned and broad shouldered man, announced.

"I see it." The Lieutenant replied in its raspy voice, pupils adjusting to the dark, spotting the location.

The sighted outpost's torch light made it recognizable in between all the trees and darkness. It was a settlement hid by flora; a few tents with uncomfortable bed-rolls had been raised, along with a much larger one raised for the purpose of discussing battle tactics against the Savages or to just review the situation until the present date. A wooden watchtower, with sloppy architectural design, was also present in the camp.

"I'm going to check on Hanji, wait for further instructions." The Lieutenant said after tying his horse's reins around a tree, much like his squad-mates.

"Yes, sir!" the other four soldiers replied in unison, some more energetically than others.

After acknowledging his comrades, he directed himself to the large tent.

The tent's ceiling formed a stretched hexagonal shape, providing for quite a spacious place. Inside, the center was occupied with a rectangular wooden table with a vastly illustrated map on top, some differently colored sculptures atop all the illustrations. The sculptures were both red and green, defining respectively the Savages and the Scouting Legion. They also varied from shapes and sizes, symbolizing squads, outposts or strongholds. The tent was also furnished with only the necessary furniture, like chests, stools and chairs, weapon racks and bookcases.

Inside, he could also find a woman, taller than himself, with dark brown hair, tied in a messy pony tail, chubby cheeks and a pair of big brown eyes adorned by thick eye lashes. She had her palms pressed firmly against the table's surface and a focused look in her somewhat joyful-looking face. Her head shoots up at his appearance.

"Hanji." The lieutenant greets.

"Dragged your ass here, Levi?"

"The dark made it hard for us to find the camp." He joins her by the map "What's the situation?"

She smirks at his straight-forwardness and proceeds to explain,

"Savage encounters are getting more frequent. They seem to have established camps throughout the woods and their numbers constantly increase. I don't know how they do it."

"Fighting is their way of life; if born from a Savage womb, once you come of age, you are thought how to fight. That's one of the explanations for their numbers." He interrupts to clarify. She nods.

"They are attacking our own encampments, destroying our supply routes and hassling the farmers that live on the outskirts of the walls." With a magnifying glass in her hand to aid her poor eye sight, she gestures it throughout the map and points at locations that illustrate her explanation. She drops the instrument when finished and looks at him "They are becoming a serious problem and, if they continue their constant bashing against us, they might initiate a war."

"And I doubt the king and court would hate to invest their money in Scouting Legion affairs." He says, knitting his eyebrows together.

She nods again.

"So, we're here to scout the closest camp?"

"Not a camp, a stronghold." she points at the sculpture atop the mentioned location. She glances at Levi when she hears him click his tongue.

"Erwin is out of his mind. Even if it's just a scouting mission; it's a huge risk for ten soldiers to approach a stronghold."

"It's okay, all we have to do is not screw it up." She turns away from him and approaches the rack, picking up her belt, respective long sword and dagger strapped to it "Give me a minute to gear up."

Levi leans against the table and stares impassively at the floor. Hanji takes his silence and relaxed position as his consent to her request.

"So this is why he didn't give me many details regarding the mission." He hisses.

"Strange, I clearly remember writing in the letter that my team needed back up for scouting a stronghold." She buckles up her belt tightly around her waist and grabs her own cape, formerly ungraciously bundled atop a chest "I guess Erwin tricked you."

"He must have figured I would complain and purposely concealed the details."

After noting the Squad Leader finishing tying the Scouting Legion dark green cape around her neck, Levi lazily moves from his position and walks towards the exit, Hanji following close by.

"Our Commander does have the habit of performing such deeds, though I like to think that he doesn't do it out of malice, but rather for the greater good."

Without irking his lips in any way, he snorts in agreement.

Outside, he is greeted by the site of eight other soldiers either shifting their weight from side to side in nervousness, drinking from their canteens liquids he couldn't identify, idly talking or standing watch. At the sight of their superiors, the soldiers silenced themselves and seized any activity.

"You are all ready?" Levi asked to the soldiers in general, scanning their facial expressions one by one "Good. Get in your horses, let's move out."

* * *

Shadows were friends of the Scouting Legion.

Often performing recon missions that required stealthy maneuvering and sharp planning, the usage of darkness was paramount. So they had become accustomed to a black veil blanketing them and anything around them, accepting the darkness as a blessing, rather than a curse, like most people depict it as.

They were scattered in a semi circle, eying the main gate of the stronghold. The horses were obviously left behind to some relative distance. Their hoods, from the capes, were loosely covering their heads. Crouched down, camouflaged by foliage, dressed in dark colors; they were nearly invisible.

Hiding in the dark, they scout.

Like most of Savage constructions, the stronghold in sight was nothing compared to any majestic stronghold belonging to a lord. Their defensive was weak; traps consisting of a disarray of wooden spikes close to the foot of their walls, as well an abundance of poorly disguised pit-traps. The walls were wooden, a few watchtowers separated segments of the wall and a large wooden gate allowed entrance to the stronghold.

The gate was opened.

They could see Savage warriors, dressed in their typical barbaric-like armors and armed with rudimental weaponry, surrounding some sort of stage in the farthest North of the camp. A lot of other Savages were paying close attention to their gate, but they didn't seem to be on patrol duty… more like they were waiting for someone to arrive.

At this, Levi furrowed his eyebrows analytically. Not so far away, together with her team, Hanji also seemed to be in the same state of puzzlement, as he managed to make out her facial expression in the dark. Around him, his squad mates also commented in hushed tones. He returned his gaze to the front gate and continued watching.

He felt a pair of silent taps on his shoulder and his hand immediately rushed to grasp his sword. Turning his head to see what had crept up on him, he relaxed when he recognized one of Hanji's squad members.

"Message from Squad Leader Hanji, sir," he breathed out the words, oblivious to the scare of death he had provoked on his superior "The Squad Leader thinks it's the best solution to infiltrate the stronghold so to better investigate the anomaly."

Levi judged that the anomaly would be commotion happening inside those wooden walls.

"Good job soldier, return to your position." He dryly ordered and crouched over to a tall blonde with golden eyes. He tapped the blonde's shoulder once,

"Eld, I need to speak to Squad Leader Hanji. You are in command while I'm away."

"Yes, sir."

Levi's back was starting to ache from staying crouched for so long, yet he still managed to cross all the distance that separated him and the woman. She nodded at him upon his arrival.

"You're insane." He emotionlessly commented, sitting beside her and stretching his back "Did you forget those Savages guarding the gate?"

"What are you talking about?" she tilts her head.

"Your stupid plan." He replies "How the hell did you intend on infiltrating the stronghold?"

"You could create a distraction and take the guards out of the way."

"We can't risk that.

"Then, why not skirt the stronghold. If we find some breach in the wall or higher ground, we can get inside. Send someone if you find something."

It seemed like a decent plan. They did need to get inside to see what the Savages were planning, they couldn't find anything just from standing out here.

"You take the west." He started stepping away.

"Alright!" she gestured for her soldiers to come closer.

"And be careful." He advised from over his shoulder. If he had looked, he might have laughed at the appalled face the girl had made. But, alas, he wouldn't have understood the reason for such a shock.

As he arrived to his prior position, he noted his squad-mates huddling close together to him for more recent orders.

"Are we going in, sir?" a brunette with curly hair and a face with forced relaxed features spoke. His hand was loosely over the pommel of the sword strapped to his belt.

"Shut up Auruo, don't speak non-sense!" censored a petite girl with golden eyes and puffy cheeks.

"We are going to skirt the stronghold and search for a safe way in or some orthodox way that allows us to see what they are doing."

He heard Auruo breathe out in exasperation, discontent for his orders. Petra, the girl, censored him yet gain; a few seconds after Petra's interaction, he heard Eld and Gunther, the broad shouldered brunette, scold the pair and reminding them that they were just a few feet away from a Savage stronghold.

* * *

He didn't know if Hanji had made any discoveries, but on his part he had made none. Or appeared to have, since he was already halfway through the skirting operation and, upon close inspection of the wall and terrain, he had found nothing.

But perhaps this was his impatient mind speaking.

Meanwhile, some chanting as well as shouting had started inside the stronghold. He could hear loud drums beating in an energetic rhythm, the smell of smoke from a large fire tickled hid nostrils.

"Quite a party." Auruo whispered sarcastically.

"They are up to no good." Petra commented to herself, fleshing out the thoughts inside the present soldiers' heads.

A vein was protruding in his temple, shaking slightly, as if alive. His patience had run dry, it was imperative that he made a decision now; it was obvious the Savages were preparing something big that would shift the tide in this battle. It could turn it into a war, for all he knew, and missing this piece of information could be shattering for the civilized men.

Now he was desperate.

The wall had no breaches, despite the weakness of the structure. If they had hooks or siege ladders they could climb the wall; with that in mind, he could make a make-shift hook with rope and arrows, but if they rappelled along the wall and penetrated the stronghold like that there was a large possibility that they could be caught. Too many attentive by-passers, too much light from the fires and too little room for stealth. Even if they just watched over the wall, so only their heads would be in view, there was a possibility that the arrows wouldn't be able to sustain all of their weight.

Thinking about it like that, no matter how hard they shot the arrow, or how tight the rope would be around it, there was always the possibility that it wouldn't be safe enough to climb with its aid.

As he looked around for other options, that was when the answer was painfully obvious.

"Climb on the trees." He commanded and they rapidly obeyed.

The trees were tall with slim, long branches that grew slimmer the farther away from the main trunk they grew. Levi picked one close to the wall, like his comrades. The tree was relatively smaller, with sturdy main branches that divided themselves into thinner ones, giving the illusion of a wooden web. The multitude of leaves also provided for good cover and if he climbed high enough, he should be able to see. He should even be able to jump over the wall, though he was almost sure he would shatter his leg bones.

Putting those useless thoughts aside, Levi approached the tree and grabbed the nearest branch with both hands, lunging himself upwards with ease.

"Shouldn't we advise Captain Hanji, sir?" Eld asked, a tree next to Levi's. In the same tree, Gunther was helping Auruo up.

Levi pondered; would it be necessary? The trees were such an obvious solution, Hanji probably thought of it immediately. Although, he was almost sure, not because it was obvious, more like because climbing a tree would be more exciting than sneaking in, according to Hanji's standards.

"Go. And take position there, do not waste time returning to me." Better safe than sorry, Levi thought.

"Yes, sir!"

Levi kept climbing on, cautiously picking where to place his hands and feet. His built muscles easily hoisted his body upwards, farther away from the ground. When he felt satisfied with the height, he carefully turned his body in the direction of the Savage concentration and relaxed against the trunk. One hand was safely secured around it, while the other was gripping the branch where he was sitting; on leg was dangling over and the other was bent, close to his chest and its side pressed against the trunk.

Female breathing, beneath him, caught his attention. It was Petra, struggling to pull herself upwards towards a branch. Being the unexpected gentleman he was, he positioned himself in a balanced way, secured his strong hand around her gentle wrist, startling her who probably didn't even realize he was there, and pulled her up, feeling his bicep and triceps tense with the pressure. By pulling her up beside him, he noted she really didn't have much to grab unto to steady herself, aside from his own body, that is. Unless he had, while still grabbing her, swung her to the other branch, adjacent to his own, where she would be safely next to the trunk for support. Since he didn't want to make her go through such a stunt, which would have probably been a very dangerous and incredibly intimidating experience for her, he realized having her side glued to his own, her small hand gripping the back of his leather armor and her head gently pressed against his shoulder, was probably the only type of safety she could muster.

He was startled at her initiative, at first, but then understood she was just touching him like this in order to avoid falling over. With that, he pressed his body more against the trunk, his hand tightening its grip, and slithered his other hand around her shoulders. He felt her relax, as much as she could when one was a couple meters away from the ground.

He checked Auruo and Gunther and noted that they were well hidden and safely positioned as well.

Looking forward, he could finally see what all the commotion was about. A large number of Savages were surrounding what could be defined as a stage; there was an enormous tent, richly decorated in Savage fashion, it was impossible to look inside. Outside, there were the drummers he heard, who had ceased the ferocious beating on the instruments, and two pillars with burning logs strapped to them, blazes flickering in the wind, as if dancing to the wild drumming.

He could also see a woman, dressed in a black robe too loose for her thin figure. Her spine curved painfully and upon looking more carefully, Levi could see how bony the woman really was around her wrists and fingers, how dirty and wrinkled her skin really was, reminding him of pieces of old parchment.

But it weren't the numerous warriors that made him hold his breath. It wasn't the horrid old woman that made him feel a cold wave graze his anatomy.

It was the family of farmers idly walking inside the stronghold.

A man, a woman and a little girl.

Petra muffled her gasp with her own hand. Levi couldn't believe it either, swallowing saliva to moisturize his dry throat, jaws pressed firmly together.

They were walking very slowly, often dragging their feet or stepping over themselves. They bobbed their weight from side to side, their shoulders hunched, their arms hung lifelessly and moved according to their motions. The man's neck failed to sustain his cranium, making it dangle lazily much like his arms; like him, the woman's and the child's necks also proved useless to support their heads, although theirs were slightly craned upwards and to the side, their facial muscles were relaxed, leaving their mouths opened and, probably, everything inside disturbingly dry. Looking harder, he noticed with dread how their eyes were completely white, some red hues coloring the lower half of the eye.

Upon glancing the farmers, the Savages began a different kind of chanting, accompanied by a different violent tune from the drums. The woman was speaking some dialect none of the Soldiers understood.

And the family followed the sound of the hag's raspy voice, walking through the corridor of ecstatic warriors that had formed to greet these hypnotized visitors; as the three innocents walked by, the savages danced or jumped in their place, spread their fingers trying to touch one of the family members, but pulling back at the last second, either because they had been scolded by a fellow warrior, or for some other reason Levi couldn't grasp.

They all looked about to burst in excitement.

And that made him furious; enough to make his lower jaw tremble, his nose wrinkle and his eyes darken.

He had always hated to witness unnecessary bloodshed.

But he didn't move from his spot. Instead, he unconsciously tightened his grasp on Petra's shoulder, probably enough to induce pain, but the girl didn't seem to notice. Possibly too awestruck to physically feel anything.

One by one, each family member knelt down close to the profane woman, who was gesticulating strangely with her ugly hands. Seconds, or minutes, passed and she firmly raised her arms, the position making the sleeves of her robe slide downwards, exposing old and withered arms with prominent elbows. Some Savages, carrying rope, hopped towards the dazed civilians.

Suddenly, each family member seemed to have woken up from a dream. Levi couldn't see them clearly, but he could imagine their shocked, wide eyes, their lips parted in a confused and utterly afraid way, erratic breaths dashing in and out of their systems. Salty tears pooling at the corners of their eyes as they screamed the first questions that came to mind;

"_Where are we?! Who are you?! What do you want with us?!" _

The father, the symbol of strength and security in the household, would demand. His voice quivered, failing to sound threatening and instead seeming pleading.

No answers were received and so, survival instincts kicked in. They needed to flee. Flee, run for dear life, don't look back and hope that these things were poor runners. Panic was clouding the adult's minds, the child was paralyzed in fear, but still they would try to run away. They could be caught and killed… they _would_ be caught and killed. But they needed to try.

But they couldn't; their hands were tied behind their backs with sturdy ropes. They moved around their wrists, they pushed their upper muscles to the limits, to no avail.

"_PLEASE, LET US GO! PLEASE LET US GO!"_

The mother, the symbol of fertility and duty in the household, would cry. She whimpered her begs for a while as tears washed her face.

The hag had gone off, long after awakening the family, leaving the three innocents alone with the beasts. But they made no effort to hurt or touch them. They kept their distance from them, leaving the farmers in the stage as they kept their constant jumping, dancing, screaming and chanting.

The drums kept beating.

Then, Levi heard an ear-crushing roar, belonging to no man or animal he had ever heard. Petra grunted against his chest and he himself almost led his hands to his ears, to muffle the sound. Then remembered if he did so, he might lose his balance. Instead, he contorted his face in pain.

He stopped looking at the family when he glimpsed, from the corner of his eye, the cloth from the enormous tent being spread open. Levi gave it his full attention.

Time, sound and anything else defining the present faded away to him.

De didn't know what was inside that tent, he never knew, but he figured it was something mundane… objects or people. He even remembered the heartless, old bitch walk inside, so he was half expecting for her to return. But she didn't. It couldn't be her. She was small and frail looking; and what was moving all those layers of cloth that composed the opening of the tent was big, robust, enormous in both height and weight.

It came in full view and Levi couldn't believe his eyes. Or he would, if he belonged to a legend you'd sing about amidst the warmth of a tavern.

It was indeed tall and robust; at least three meters tall, would be taller if it didn't hunch its back and if it had proportionate legs. Its facial features were compacted together: small eyes too close to its pig-like nose, lower jaw bigger than the upper jaw, exposing randomly sized but sharp and big teeth, ears were large and pointy. Its skin was a dark green, with charcoal colored hair growing vastly in its arms, legs and upper half of his back, but none on his head. It possessed broad shoulders, with powerful muscles bulging in its arms, neck and legs; its belly was oddly round, probably signifying a large appetite. It was also nude, shamelessly displaying a manhood that made Petra cringe and Levi almost vomit.

Glancing over at his comrades close by, Levi noted they were as disbelieving towards this beast as himself.

The monster roared again, lifting its powerful arms and the Savages roared along with it.

This was apparently an ally of the Savages.

The beast looked over at the three farmers, its eyes shimmering in the light, its head tilting slightly to the right curiously. It lowered himself, supporting its taller upper body with its big hands. The creature breathed in the face of the child and she almost passed out at the proximity of those big, yellow teeth.

Next to the girl, the parents watched, horrified. Petrified. Silent.

A little itch on Levi's brain whispered to him what would happen next, but he didn't believe it. He couldn't.

The beast stood to its original height and made a distorted smile.

'_It__ won't do it. It's been inside that tent for God knows how long, it must have been doing something… not hard to guess what, looking at its belly.' _Levi thought._'It won't do it.'_

The beast's grotesque hand carelessly grabbed the child, her whole upper body filling its hand, the girl's feet squirming epileptically.

Levi almost shouted. Instead, he merely watched as the monster slowly lifted its arm until it hung over his open, disgusting mouth, rows of putrid teeth probably connected by lines of vile moisture. It unclenched Its hand and the girl fell, screeching a high pitched tune that would play in the Captain's ears every night before he fell asleep. She hit her head along the smooth part of one of the monsters sharp canines, the hit not silencing her squeal, before the creature unceremoniously snapped shut his jaws, chomping down its first appetizer. One of the girl's legs never got to fully enter the beast's mouth, so an explosion of blood erupted from the middle of the shin of the girl down to her foot, the scarlet liquid painting the teeth and dark green lips.

The rest of the leg dropped dryly on the floor, close to the parents. Blood drooped out of it and formed a horrid crimson lake that reflected the mother and father.

A family portrait.

Petra's body shook from time to time, her hand over her mouth muffling her cries. Levi felt like stone.

The drums kept beating.

* * *

**Well, that wasn't supposed to sound so much like the end of the first episode/chapter of SnK. It's completely different, yeah, but there is still chomping. And no, that's not a titan (;  
**

**So this just happened. Let me know if Attack on Titan set in Medieval Ages with themes from German Romanticism writing is as cool as it sounds or if it's just in my head and it's just plane moronic. If it is cool though, then ladies and gentlemen I will go crazy writing this. I have so many ideas and an actual coherent fucking PLOT, it's absurd... I haven't posted anything in a while and I have to say I am somewhat excited to be active (really active) in so if this ends up just catching dust.. it's going to be embarassing for me xD  
**

**Thank you for reading and please, drop a review!  
**


	2. The Realm

**Chapter One: The Realm**

The dawn sky was clear; sketches of clouds randomly tinting the pale blue, warm tones from the rising sun slowly lighting the earth. It was quiet, no noise aside from casual rustling of the leaves or flaps from wings by various bird species as they freely flew.

Along the paved road, a woman rode a black mare, dressed in leggings, a tunic and boots. She also had a scarf wrapped around her neck, of a dark red tone, swaying in the wind. The woman was pale, skin resembling marble unlike the tanned skin of the common folk; dark eyes, with a few streaks of indigo in the irises, were adorned by curly eyelashes and exotically shaped eyes. Her eyebrows were a thin, straight line. The woman was tall and seemingly built, with a round face framed by her straight, black hair that cascaded unto her upper back.

She had a loose grip on the reins, just tight enough to keep her balance as the animal galloped. There was a neutral expression on her face; a gleam of determination in her calm-looking eyes, she didn't seem fazed by the beautiful sun rise or the peace from nature. On closer inspection, it was possible to see some annoyance on her features, as well.

She left the main road, turning to follow along a secondary path, the rocks from the pavement seemed rugged with usage. A two-floored, big establishment was in sight. The construction seemed dull and ugly to her eyes, with its dirty walls and closed blinds.

There was a sign over the door, _'Miranda's Pleasure House', _the woman read. Almost laughed at the lack of subtlety.

She dropped from her horse and stabled it in a fenced opening, next to the establishment. Before leaving the make-shift stables, she stopped on her tracks upon noticing a man, dressed in the Garrison's uniform, snoring on a pile of hay, some empty mugs near his feet. She blinked at the sight, wondering if she should wake the soldier, but concluded he was not her responsibility and left.

The inside of the establishment was as dull looking as it seemed from the outside. There was a receptionist, Miranda, and then there was a lounge full of tables and stools, a bar near the end of the room. Close to the bar, there was a stairway that led to the various rooms of the second floor. The… pleasure rooms.

"Morning, Mikasa." Miranda greeted, she seemed sleepy "Last room at the end of the corridor, to the right."

"Thanks."

She hadn't time for trivial greetings, Miranda didn't seem to mind. She strode past the lounge, not sparing glances at the mess of splattered food and drink or at the sleeping forms of shameless women with ripped dresses or equally shameless, some of them adulterous, men scattered across the room.

"I admire you, you know," Mikasa turned to look back at the woman "for having the patience to put up with him."

Mikasa's gaze softened as she looked at the ground, chilling, as well as warming, memories embracing her "I don't have much choice." She answered curtly.

She heard Miranda snort behind her as she climbed the stairs, oblivious to the deep meaning of the exotic woman's words.

Upon arriving to the destined room, she didn't bother with courtesies and nonchalantly opened the door as soon as her hand could reach the doorknob. It wasn't locked. The air was heavy in the room and it smelt of wine and sweaty sheets and wet bodies and heat. She fought the urge to open the windows. Curtains were keeping the morning rays at bay, clothes were a disarray along the floor and at the feet of the large bed, in the center of the room. There was a small, round table in the room, some stools huddled around it, one of it was toppled over.

In the bed, laying on his belly and sound asleep, was a well built, tanned man, body molding with the cushion, his hands folded beneath the pillow. The sheet was around knee level, allowing a perfect view of his apparent nudity. Mikasa's facial features all contracted.

Standing by the bed, gathering the rest of her clothes, dressed in a nightgown, was an older woman than herself. As soon as Mikasa opened the door, the woman froze and her whole face lit up, eyes wide and mouth in an 'o' shape.

"If you are his wife, yell at him." She spluttered, arms up in defense "I was just doing my job."

Mikasa didn't pay much mind to the comment in favor of better analyzing the man. Now at the foot of the bed, she could see an unusual peaceful look on his face: his shaggy brown hair was disheveled and draping his forehead, his lips were slightly parted allowing the emission of low and guttural snores. The fact that he looked so vulnerable and relaxed was proof enough that he was sleeping like a rock, not just snoozing.

She turned to the prostitute, remembering that she owed her an explanation,

"I'm his sister."

She approached the aforementioned round table, the woman behind her gasping and muttering in her breath in disbelief, and noted a ceramic jug, along with two mugs. She let her nose hover over the mouth of the jug and inhaled. The scent was sweet and warmed her nostrils.

'_Wine.' _She thought, mentally scoffing_ 'Of course he would have wine.'_

She looked around and behind her found another partition of the small room. She approached it.

'_Bathroom.'_

Among usual bathroom attire, she found a basin full of water. Satisfied with her search, she returned to the bed and approached the man's side. She felt the woman's eyes on her, she was very silent and had stopped what she was doing to watch Mikasa expectantly. The pale woman watched the man's rib cage expand and relax for a few seconds, she analyzed his back and arms, the flesh divided into different segments of musculature developed by his natural manly growth, as well as his training as a soldier.

But she couldn't waste much time. She tipped the basin over, the liquid content splattering all over the man's naked, warm, back making him startle awake, gasp strangely and flip over on the wet mattress, adopting a defensive position. That appeared very weak just because of his complete nudity that Mikasa struggled not to get embarrassed by, her face maintaining her neutral look.

"Eren," Mikasa called, his wide jade eyes quickly adopting an angry look, swapping the previous shocked one "get dressed, training starts pretty soon."

His face morphed again, this time of preoccupation. His nudity wasn't obviously his main problem, as he pressed a closed fist to his parted lips, teeth marking the flesh of his index finger. Mikasa noted goose-bumps forming along his rugged skin, water droplets still slid down his lean back and arms, his shaggy brunette hair clung to his nape, his front hadn't been hit by water.

"Fuck, Shadis will kill me!" Eren muttered to his fist.

* * *

Eren had dressed at un-human speed. Both young adults had urged for their respective horses to dash like arrows in the wind… all mere futile attempts at avoiding the inevitable: they wouldn't arrive on time to their training under Sir Keith Shadis, former Commander of the Scouting Legion, recently nominated Baron by the King due to his accomplishments while in command, currently instructor to new trainees.

Shadis was a very strict man, his lack of kindness during training toughened the soldiers and prepared them for the life they would experience; this was probably the reason why his trainees were such fine soldiers. The arrogant and intimidating aura around his persona was magnified by his tall stature and penetrating amber gaze, accentuated by the dark bags under his eyes, which were surrounded by a small webbing of wrinkles.

Keith Shadis was not amused towards the sibling's lack of punctuality. Long before their arrival, much like throughout all of their training, the trainees had already left their quarters and had collected themselves in the training courtyard, waiting for the Baron's instructions. When Mikasa and Eren had arrived, they had been heavily humiliated by sarcastic and aggressive comments by their instructor, their fellow trainees suppressing their snickers and chuckles. Lastly, both of them had been assigned main targets in the initial exercise; groups of ten had been made, one of the members of the group would dress practice armor and fend for itself against the other nine trainees, all ten members were armed with wooden swords. 'Practicing combat when a soldier is in a crushing minority', Shadis had explained. All trainees had the option to decide amongst themselves who would be the defender, except for Eren and Mikasa, assigned in separate groups, forced to play the defender.

By the end of training, Eren felt like he had been ran over by a horse. He dragged his feet towards the barracks, along with the rest of the trainees, to store the wooden swords as well as the practice armor. The barracks, situated in the courtyard, was an open space covered by a tiled roof that held all the equipment the trainees might require.

He only noticed the degree of tiredness and pain he was in when he tried taking of the armor, he could already imagine the purple bruises across his body. He grunted and panted as he fidgeted with the beltings of the stupid piece, letting out an exasperated breath when he finally undressed it.

"Hey, Eren."

Eren craned his neck to recognize Armin Arlert, a childhood friend. The brunette nodded at him when he walked next to him, struggling more than the brunette to undress his armor. He furrowed his eyebrows at the boy's stubbornness; Armin was shorter than most for an eighteen-year old, besides that, he was also far too slim for a soldier. He wasn't a bag of bones, he had flesh and muscle, but he wasn't very built, which made him lack the physique to endure the grueling exercises Shadis threw upon them. The boy clearly knew these facts, still, he volunteered to play the defending role in this exercise.

"Pretty…" he was breathing uneasily when he took off the piece off of his shoulders "Pretty …tough exercises today…!"

Eren took a few seconds to fully embrace the miserable state he was in; his blonde hair was disheveled and dirty, contrary to the usual perfect bowl haircut he kept it in. The sclera from his bright blue eyes was tinted red, there was smeared and dry blood near his nostrils and judging by the way he was breathing and by how much it seemed to hurt just for him to walk, Eren deduced Armin mustn't have escaped the exercise with just a few bruises.

But he didn't seem to care apparently, preferring to start small talk.

"By the way, you should get that looked at… it's bleeding still, and I'm sure it's going to blacken and swell." Armin, bearing an analytical look, pointed at Eren's eyebrow "Jean really was an idiot, he shouldn't have aimed at the head…"

Eren almost brought a hand to his left eye, where Jean Kirchstein had slammed his sword against when he saw an opening, but managed to contain himself.

"He would have been a bigger idiot if he had held back." Eren could feel his eyebrow stinging, he could feel a trail of blood drying against his face and he knew Armin's diagnosis was correct; but he refused to get the wound checked at, he would not give that satisfaction to the pompous, opportunist prick.

He focused on Armin's health, instead, which was way worse than his own but the blonde didn't seem to care.

"Anyway, why are you worrying for me? Have you looked at yourself?"

"It's only the ribs."

"…and everything else."

"Eren, I'm fine!" Armin said sternly, his blues eyes adopting a more hostile light as he stared back at the taller boy "I can take care of myself."

He sniffed, then growled in pan "… perhaps… perhaps I should get my nose checked, too…"

Eren snorted in amusement, making Armin smirk.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but don't be ridiculous, you're a mess, not just the ribs or the nose. But all of you; go get yourself checked."

Armin scowled, eying Eren again annoyingly.

"Hypocrite. How am I supposed to concede to this when you are talking to me like that, barely standing, with a torn eyebrow?!"

"Okay, so-"

"Jaeger!"

Eren, as well as the rest of the trainees present in the barracks, silenced themselves immediately upon hearing Shadis bark his name at the entrance of the barracks.

"Since you and Ackerman were so punctual," he said, sarcasm dripping off of his voice. "you'll aid the community by cleaning the mess hall at the end of the day."

Eren suppressed a string of cuss words, but kept a neutral face as he looked back at his instructor.

"Are we clear, Jaeger?"

"… yes, sir."

"Ackerman?" he shifted his gaze to next to Eren. The brunette was surprised, he hadn't even hear the girl approach him. She shifted her gaze towards the instructor.

"Yes, sir."

Her voice was steady, no apparent tiredness present in it. Eying her more thoroughly, Eren didn't seem to find any hint that she could possibly be physically drained. Well, she did have standards to keep, being the prodigy and all.

"Good." Shadis smirked "Get the hell out of here, all of you. You're dismissed."

As soon as the instructor turned his back to them, Eren turned to look at Mikasa and gave her an anguished look. She didn't share his discontent, in fact, she was as nonchalant as ever.

"Huh, Mikasa… I'm sorry…"

Her expression did not change. He was tempted to look behind him, at Armin, in search for the right thing to do or say in this particular situation, but did not.

"What for?"

That wasn't an answer he would expect. He frowned deeply.

"You know what for! Don't act like you don't mind!" his voice elevated a few octaves, sounding angrier than it should "Why did you even come after me this morning? If you hadn't, you wouldn't be in this situation!"

He missed how the look in her eyes faltered and how her eyebrows slightly lifted. She was glad for the loud commotion inside the barracks, she wouldn't have liked for the other trainees to witness such a moment between the two.

"If I hadn't, you would have endured a much tougher punishment. I wouldn't be able to live with that." She turned to leave "Just don't forget that you have to clean the mess hall, or I would have to do it all on my own."

And with that she left, leaving Eren fuming in frustration but, deep inside, with an eerie feeling of guilt that he refused to acknowledge.

And this is why he didn't have many friends.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Armin with a reassuring smile "Talk to her."

He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he ran a hand through his messy hair "That's the problem…"

He didn't know how to talk to people. Armin nodded, he understood without him saying it out loud. He had that power, to read people like books.

"Try, at least."

He grunted, wrinkling his nose.

He didn't know how to talk to people… specially, if they were girls.

* * *

Eren's upper back was burning. The muscles on his arms were stinging, making him want nothing else but to stop brushing the wooden floor of the mess hall. Next to him was a wide bucket with soapy water, where he would regularly wet an old, big piece of cloth, which he was using for cleaning. Not far away from him, Mikasa was undergoing similar motions while cleaning the long tables, a similar bucket close to her figure. The spacious room was light by the candle light, from the chandeliers on the ceiling, as well as the some candles placed along the tables.

He would, from time to time, roll back up the sleeves of his old beige shirt. The brown cloth from his pants covering his knees was starting to get soaked by the water on the floor.

The only sounds were Eren's occasional grunts or annoyed breaths. Mikasa didn't complain.

The girl would occasionally look in the boy's direction, but say nothing. Just checking how he was faring, in how much pain he seemed to be… often she wondered if she should suggest switching tasks. But a part of her predicted that he would just answer angrily, like he did in the morning. She also looked his way secretly expecting for him to apologize, to show appreciation for dragging him into training… but knew that would be entirely out of Eren's character. But a girl could dream.

On the other hand, the other part of her was irritated by his poor choosing of nocturnal occupations… and it was this part of her that was making her stoic and cold at the moment, not allowing her inner conflict to show in the outside.

"I swear to you…" he grunted from the ground, two rows of tables away from her "this place… has never seemed bigger."

Her hand freezes in place, ceasing the circular movements it had once been doing.

'_We've been here for I don't know how long… and those are the first words you speak?'_

"If you complain, you'll stay here longer." She answers, voice low and clear. She returns to cleaning.

"I know, but still…" she hears his bones cracking. He probably stopped entirely to stretch his back; she doesn't blame him, staying hunched like that for so long should take its toll on the body "…I can't help but get that feeling."

She doesn't answer. She's not good at small talk.

"Only a month, now…" there's determination in his voice "In a month, we'll finish our training and be allowed to enter the ranks of the Scouting Legion."

She can't help but stop her motions again. She stretches her back, so she's at her full height, and looks his way. He doesn't seem to notice how much his bullshit is bothering her; so she speaks up.

"Will you know duty by then?"

At this, he stops too, looking her way incredulously. She can see his eyebrows slowly casting a shadow on his eyes, forming his typical angry frown. He lets go of the cloth and rests his palms on his thighs, stretching his back as well.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She didn't waver at his bitterness.

"It means, Eren, will you be at a whore house or at a tavern when the Scouts call you for battling Savages?"

Her words slammed his body; his mouth was agape, his eyebrows relaxed, his shoulders slumped.

"So… this is why what it's all about?" he wasn't bitter this time, instead, his voice sounded cynical "You have been acting like - this - because I fucked a girl and was late to training because of that?!"

He was shouting, now. At her.

She closed her eyes and lowered her head. She hated when he shouted. It always made her want to cry. But she wouldn't; not in front of him. Not until he shed the first tear.

"I am an adult, Mikasa; I can do whatever the fuck I want! If I want to get drunk and fuck girls then I'll do it; they were my choices, I'll lead with their consequences, not you!" his chest was heaving, his arms were hanging in the air "And you come talking to me about duty?! Of course I know duty; I knew it the moment those fucking Savages burnt my house and killed my parents...! Do you remember what I said then, at that time?! It's because of them that I'm here and it's because of them that I'll join the Scouts!"

Her body felt weak, his words seared through her being hurting more than any wound. But she would not cry… not while this beast of a man was in control of the boy she knew. She would wait; like she always did.

"Fuck, Mikasa…! You always do this shit! You always act like I'm your... your fucking baby brother that needs protection; I don't need your protection! I can take care of myself!"

She bit down on her quivering lip. She slowly lifted her head to look at him with hurt eyes.

His voice volume was lowering, he was growling instead of roaring. She moved from her spot and walked steadily closer to him. She stopped when they were a meter away. She contemplated his bared nostrils, his wild eyes, his erratic breaths.

"Eren…" she took another step and fell on her knees next to him, she didn't look at him as she whispered "…forgive me."

The brunette looked away, his face shifted to a more solemn expression. Mikasa beside him kept herself in a submissive position; her back was hunching, her black locks were hiding her face, her arms were falling limply to her sides.

"You are all that I have left."

Here they were again… in this situation. It had always been like this, ever since their families had been taken away from them; Eren would find ways to release his anguish, he would screw up and Mikasa would come to his rescue, he would get mad at her extreme protectiveness, he would scream, she would listen… then she would say those seven little words. And he would understand.

It had always been like this.

He was the angry kid with a resilient spirit, she was the broken killer with blind faith.

"I didn't ask for this, you know…" he whispered "You don't owe me anything."

"I owe you my life." She whispers back, tugging at the scarf around her neck "That's a debt I'll never be able to pay."

He scoffs, but he understands. He feels one of her hands closing in around his bigger, calloused one. She applies some pressure around it, to reassure herself, he lets her do as she likes.

"I won't be doing these things once we enter the Scouts, no." he explains.

"Once we enter the Scouts… I'll have achieved my life goal…" he speaks with determination in his voice, the flickering from the candle light glistens his emerald eyes.

"To leave this fucking prison of a city and to aid in the war against the Savages."

* * *

…_The following morning…_

Close to Sina, His Lordship's castle, were the castles and lands of the commanders of their respective military branches. Lord-Commander Erwin Smith's was the farthest from Sina, taking a full day on horseback to reach it.

Having a castle, monetary power, lands and their own respective armies were all perks from the title of commander, or constable. In military ranks, above them stood only the High-Constable, the military advisor of the king and the one that controlled his armies in his place, Darius Zacklay, and of course His Grace himself, representative of humanity and ruler of the realm. Not associated to the army but still with similar rights, were powerful people who the king would compensate with titles such as dukes, counts, viscounts and barons. Lastly, there were the knights, "Sirs" or, in some rare cases, "Ladies", with solely the right of the title and their own property.

The commanders would stay in their respective headquarters to plan strategies, send or receive information via couriers or ravens or to tend to political meetings. In Sina, they would keep their lieutenants to lead their soldiers in their place, as well as to represent their respective military branch.

Levi was the Scouting Legion's lieutenant, his place was in Sina, but due to the most recent expedition, he had travelled to his Lord-Commander's castle, accompanied by Hanji, as well as their corresponding teams.

In the confinements of their leader's castle, up the vertiginous snail stairways leading to the upmost levels of the massive construction, was the commander's office. The man spent most of his time inside that room, sitting in front of his desk, leading with the disarray of paper work atop the wooden piece of furniture. There was always a peaceful silence inside that room, disturbed only by manifestations of nature; glorious sunlight in the summer, roaring of thunder or wind and slaps of rain water across his tall windows, in the winter.

Erwin Smith had his elbows resting atop his desk, fingers laced together, eyes closed in a thoughtful manner. Inside his quiet office, were present his lieutenant and the female squad leader, the former looking out of the window, the latter sitting in a chair in front of his desk, arms lazily hanging over the chair's arms.

Erwin inhaled deeply, then exhaled, resting his forehead against his laced fingers for a few seconds.

"You mean to tell me…" he started, head still against his hands "…that what you discovered in that stronghold two nights ago" he sighed again "… was that they have a… troll."

"That's what I wrote in the report, yes." Hanji answered smoothly, gesturing to the parchment atop the commander's desk.

Erwin lifted his head so he could look at the woman in front of him, blue eyes appalled at relaxation of the brunette regarding the topic at hand. He unlaced his fingers to bring a hand towards his temple, massaging the protruding and pulsing vein, closing his eyes

"In other words, you are saying that the Savages have trained, or tamed, a beast from a fairy tale… That this thing, fed on three civilians, who walked into the stronghold seeming hypnotized and that these civilians served as sacrifices to the beast." Erwin looked back at the brunette "Correct?"

"Yes, Erwin." She answered. Hanji Zoey had the habit of ignoring formalities towards her superior, even in public, the title of 'Lord-Commander' was never applied towards Erwin, much to his annoyance.

"I believe that is how they managed to become allies with the troll, by feeding it with sacrifices. The constant encounters between Savages and our very own civilians could provide with these 'sacrifices', among other things they usually salvage… namely, weapons and armor and supplies like food or water, or gold even if I don't believe they'd find this very useful but they still take what they find. But those have been previously reported, the deaths are the ones that have never been analyzed, we always thought them being casual deaths with any deeper meaning."

Levi's gaze shifted from staring out the window to glaring intensely at the brunette as she described previous deaths as 'casual'. Noticing his glare, she looked back at him, seeming as nonchalant as ever, even shrugging as if asking '_what?_'

"Levi," the tall, broad shouldered blond called "you're my lieutenant. What would you do if a case like this were presented to you?"

Levi looked back at his commander.

"I would exile the soldier that would propose such an idea to me. I don't care if there were ten witnesses or fifty. It's madness I refuse to believe." He averted his gaze back to the outside world "Ironically enough, I was one of the witnesses. Still, I can hardly believe it."

"You can relate to my position, then."

Hanji's eyes were quaintly watching the exchange between both serious men. When silence had settled in the room once more, she turned to her commander.

"What will you do, Erwin?"

The third, long sigh escaped his lips.

"This information is not to be public. We must swear secrecy, so must your respective teams."

At that, Hanji's eyes widened in astonishment, her jaw dropping.

"You want to keep this a secret?! Erwin, this is crucial information! The military should prepare in case beasts like those attack our city! Trolls are incredibly common in the wilds, if they have one, they can have plenty more!"

"Hanji." Levi growled, forehead muscles painfully constricted "Are you listening to yourself?!"

"…huh?" she wasn't swayed by the short man's anger, keeping that glint in her eyes alive.

"You're speaking like a madwoman, speaking like you know so much of the matter, implying that they could have more… and worst, proposing that we should inform the military." He scoffed "What would we do, write a letter to the king? _'My liege, the savages have trolls. They could have fairies and dragons and ogres and goblins as well, we should prepare!'_ …"

She hooked her index finger over her upper lip, eyes seeming thoughtful.

"That's…actually a pretty good assumption."

Levi felt a jolt of disbelief cross his being. She was actually taking him seriously. His hand clenched into a fist, nails pressing against his palm, the bones from his fingers almost snapping with the pressure he was applying.

Erwin could feel the violent aura emanating from the skilled killer close to him.

"Hanji," he called, attempting to ease the tension in the room "what you are proposing is, indeed, madness."

She arched her eyebrows, ignoring Levi, who still seemed very angry. She was about to protest once more, but he brought his hand up, palm facing her, and spoke before she could.

"The both of you are ones of my most trusted soldiers. You've been under my lead basically since I was nominated Commander of the Scouting Legion. So, even if the topic is so… subjective, I will believe you. Ten people seeing the same thing, is somewhat hard to ignore." he allowed his words to sink in "But ten people are nothing compared to the population of Sina. They'll call us mad, they'll call us infidels and then the Inquisition will torture and hang us for proposing such a thing."

The Inquisition, the agents that applied the Church's justice, had settled itself in Sina some decades ago, the city's chapel being their sanctuary. They keep an iron fist rule over the people's beliefs, not tolerating any other religions or cultures aside from Christianity. Books, many of them regarding legends and myths that Hanji craves so much, have been burnt or censored and priests and bishops often pull a string in the city's rule. Hanji wasn't afraid of the Holy Church, often insulting it.

she was under protection, her father being a very influential nobleman, could easily pay for the Church's silence.

Nobody denies gold, even if they were 'sent from God'.

"We will keep this between us. I'll make more scouting missions like these, so we understand better their… offense. Meanwhile, I'll send a raven to Pixis, urging for him to strengthen the defenses throughout Sina with more Garrison troops. Levi, I take it you don't want the Garrison with your Scouts?"

"No, they would only get in the way. They are better defending the city." he seemed calmer "Times like these when I'm glad for the dropouts that join the Garrison."

"What about Nile Dok?" Hanji asked. They both looked at her strangely.

"All the Military Police can do is scratch their asses and get drunk. They are as useful to the military as tits are on a chicken."

"My relationship with Lord-Commander Nile Dok isn't very good. He hasn't assisted once throughout the Savage Crisis, I doubt he would assist now."

Hanji hummed, scratching her nose.

"Indeed, the Military Police could be of more help."

* * *

The sun had traversed to the center of the sky at this point, bathing Sina in strong sunrays. She could see the marketplace, countless stores and a messy throng of people. She didn't like it; too much noise, so much so, that she could hardly distinguish the sounds as the yelling mixed in with the laughing and with the joyful tunes produced by drums, flutes and guitars. But what she disliked most wasn't the noise, but the obvious corruption and illegal business being performed behind the guards' backs.

It always made her think back on the oh so just rule that they lived in.

She could also see other things; the labyrinth that were the small roads in between buildings, the tall towers of the chapel scraping the clouds, attempting to reach the heavens. People starving in the filthy slums, close to the walls, bathed in disease.

She accommodated her back against the stone wall, arms crossing in front of her chest, neck turning every so often to capture more imagery of the city. The balconies of the King's castle really offered astounding views.

Reiner Braun, her comrade, cackled close to her before proceeding with his rambling. His breath stanch of wine. Bertholdt Hoover, sitting on the same small round table as Reiner, would shyly chuckle or utter an introverted comment in response to the man's behavior.

Her comrades, Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. Or were they her friends? People would think so by the amount of time they spent together, if by 'spending together' they mean listening to the two of them talk. She didn't know what they were to her, she never tried to define them. She trusted them and that sufficed.

Deeply she hoped they trusted her too, Annie Leonhart, the lone wolf.

The smell of smoke snaked inside her nostrils, bringing her to reality. Close after, she heard the bells from the chapel, followed by intensive preaching. The Inquisition was burning people again on their pyres, she deduced. She thought of the men and women currently burning, the filthy priest singing at them.

She thought of the people killing for food in the dirty streets, while here she could walk a few steps and eat until her stomach would burst. She thought of her fellow policemen, not only Reiner, enjoying their wines, as Scouts risked their necks against Savages.

Her eyes slightly darkened as she thought of her father, living outside in the middle of the mountains, sleeping on a bed of hay, whereas she slept in silky sheets.

"Hey… hey, Annie…!" Reiner's slurred voice cut through her thoughts "Why don't you sit with us? There's another stool… you've been standing there, all alone for so long…"

Her eyes adopted that bored look again before looking back at the tall, broad, blonde. His short hair had a messy fashion, he had probably ran his big hand through it. His light brown eyes were gleaming, his cheeks were beet red.

"You're… you're daydreaming… Annie." Bertholdt hesitantly spoke. The man was a contradiction to Annie's eyes; so tall, so intimidating in his full plate armor, a greatsword on his back, strapped to a belt tight around his torso. Yet Bertholdt was the man with the least self-confidence she had ever met, always nervous to speak his mind.

She walked over to their table and silently sat down between them. At her motions, Bertholdt smiled and Reiner chortled.

"You're so nice, sometimes… accepting our company…!" Reiner grinned.

" '_Sometimes_'?" she turned to him "You're not starting this very well. And you reek of wine, why am I here, again?"

"You know how he is… with drinks…" Bertholdt commented beside her, smiling down at her.

Reiner roared in laughter.

"Like you're not used to the wine by now… c'mon Annie, you should know better!" he slams a hand on her much smaller shoulder, making her wince and almost lose her balance on the stool. Her eyes look up at him, beneath her pale eyelashes and furrowed brows. He immediately removes his hand, shivering and shrinking in her gaze.

He laughs lowly, as if apologizing.

"Don't you think we make the most amazing trio?" he says, changing the topic "Just looking at us… people should love us! I mean, we even come in different sizes and shapes; if you want tall and slim there's Bert… if you want tall and broad there's me… and if you want short and… short there's you, Annie!"

Bertholdt laughs next to her. Her cold demeanor retreats, slightly affected by his humor, even if he was somewhat mocking her small stature.

"Again… why am I here?" she pulled some of her blond bangs behind her ear and rested her head on her palm.

"So…" Reiner started, filling his glass with more wine "What's gotten you so worked up, Annie?"

There were no other glasses. He gestured his glass towards her, almost spilling the red liquid.

"Resulting to alcohol to get answers out of me?" she asked, face bored-looking as she accepted the glass. A tasting sip, warmth down her throat, a sweet taste in her tongue.

"I'd need something stronger than that to get you drunk… something much stronger." He giggled "You're immune to drunkenness."

Bertholdt watched as the scene unrolled in front of his eyes.

"I'm not immune, you're just too big of a lightweight." She took a long gulp on the drink, passing Reiner the cup, knowing the taller of the two would deny if offered "Knowing that, what's the point in making me drink?"

"To occupy you. To steal you of opportunities of drifting out of this world and thinking of pointless things."

"Such as?"

He drank.

"You haven't told us yet."

Sweat started to moist Bertholdt's forehead. Annie was tapping her slender fingers on the wood, the other hand supporting her head in its palm. Her blue pools were piercing Reiner's golden ones.

"Staying in the Military Police really has been an illuminating experience." She started, he was drinking while looking at her "We get to live inside those big houses, shrouded by this big castle which we supposedly protect. Which we don't, the fact that we are drinking and talking in our shift proves it. And like us, most of the Military Police are doing the same thing, entrusting the Garrison with the security work."

"The fact that there is so much of the Garrison here, instead of with the Scouting Legion already is something that is pisses me off." He drinks the last of the wine and refills the glass, he hands it to Anne for her to drink "I mean, how many people does our king want around to watch him take a dump?"

"Reiner!" Berthold ushers.

"At least we don't clean his ass, like the people and the Scouts do."

"A-Annie!" she doesn't even spare him a glance, instead finding interest in the view over the balcony.

Seconds of silence. A hiccup from Reiner.

"So this is what was on your mind?" the broad man asks.

She doesn't answer. Her eyes are following the smoky remnants on the sky from the pyre of before. She doesn't speak, so Reiner does.

"Interesting how much of this bullshit hierarchy you can learn by just staying a month in here. Only the top ten from your trainee group are allowed to enter the ranks of Military Policemen… all of us are, supposedly, very skilled soldiers but we are all huddled here in wonderland lazing around, filling our stomachs and pockets."

"Do you want to get out?"

Her eyes were back on his.

"… get out?" he let his head down, scratching the table with his index finger "I do. But I can't. How can one man make a difference? People only accomplish things when they are under pressure… you'll see. Once the war breaks out, the Military Police will shine."

Annie thought on his words as she wet her lips on the glass. She retreated her mouth before drinking.

"Doesn't have to be under pressure." Reiner looked at her through his gleaming eyes.

"An idiot can bring change, too."

* * *

**NO, IT'S NOT CATCHING DUST. School has been a pain, I've been lazy and having a social life as well. But I'll hopefully have more time now.**

**An introduction to the world of Crimson Tale. I was going to introduce the Reiss's in this chapter, but wanted to update something, plus the chapter was already getting a tad bit long. Tell me how you liked it!**

**The "tits on a chicken" joke isn't mine.**

**Updated 30/December because of a few grammar mistakes and I wasn't very satisfied with one part of the chat with Reiner and Annie.**


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